Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of sailing with our clients on dozens of incentive cruises, and each one has been unique and memorable. But I just returned from a recognition program that was truly inspiring, because this client and their group of incentive cruise volunteers helped make a difference in the community they visited. Here is their story:
Corporate Social Responsibility in Action: Making a Difference
A financial services company chartered Silversea’s Silver Wind to recognize their top performers. Their voyage included visits to Caribbean islands affected by recent hurricanes. As other cruise lines adjusted their ports of call to avoid the damaged areas, Silversea offered our client alternative itineraries.
But they insisted on staying the course to support the economies of the struggling islands. They also wanted to contribute their time and energy to help those affected by the storm.
One of their scheduled stops was Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This port can accommodate up to six ships at any time – that’s about 15,000 people visiting in one day. Silver Wind was the only ship in port, and the pier and streets were deserted.
Our client and the Rotary Club of St. Marin Sunrise arranged a Community Painting Project to paint the damaged homes of island residents. Members of the Rotary Club met our group of incentive cruise volunteers as they disembarked from Silver Wind in St. Maarten.
Armed with paint brushes and rollers, 51 volunteers fom our client’s group went to work painting three homes in town that were damaged by the hurricane.
Helping St. Maarten, one house at a time
By the end of the day, our incentive cruise volunteers were exhausted but energized, having shared the experience of “giving back” and making a difference. A letter from the Rotary Club expressed it best:
On behalf of the paint recipients, we want to express our appreciation. The volunteers were super excited about the project and did a fabulous job. The recipients homes looks absolutely fabulous, everyone admired the volunteerism and commented on the excellent job that was executed in record time. Words can express enough how appreciative the recipients are, many thanks for generosity and best wishes to you all.
